The Atlanta Falcons improved to 2-2 after a thrilling last-second 26-24 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Atlanta has played each of its four games closely, and next week’s game against the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers might demonstrate how good this team might be.
Yet the Falcons have had success without much of a contribution from arguably one of their most important offensive players. Tight end Kyle Pitts had no catches on three targets, continuing a disappointing season for the fourth-year pass catcher.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris was asked about Pitts’ zero-catch performance and whether or not he and the staff are trying to get him more involved in the offense.
“You know, it’s just about going out there and winning the game. When you’re out there, you’re playing,” Morris responded. “He had a couple targets today, he had a couple things going up that way. We had a questionable call at the end of this stretch again to Kyle. Those things are always unfortunate.”
In the second quarter, Pitts had a catch for a short gain that was wiped out by an offensive pass interference penalty on Drake London. That’s presumably the “questionable call” Morris was referring to.
He was surely also alluding to officials missing apparent pass interference by Bryan Cook on Pitts late in Week 3’s 22-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Morris may have been criticizing media and fans for focusing on Pitts’ numbers, rather than the result on the scoreboard. But statistics do demonstrate how effective a player’s performance was and how much of an impact he had had on the game. That scrutiny is likely more intense for a tight end whose value is based on his reception and yardage totals, rather than his blocking.
“But really, for me, stats are for losers, man,” Morris added. “I don’t get involved in that stuff. You go out there, you try to win each game. We were able to win it today. That’s what we did.”
Some might also infer that Morris is putting the Pitts issue on offensive coordinator Zac Robinson to find more ways to get him the ball. But getting open has been a problem for Pitts in the previous two seasons, an issue the previous coaching staff led by Arthur Smith also encountered.
However, Pitts had a 50-yard reception against the Chiefs, a tantalizing reminder of his talent. Robinson indicated he’ll get the ball if he puts in the work to get open.
“I think the more he can be detail-oriented, play as fast as he did, the ball is naturally just going to find him,” Robinson told reporters, via SI.com.
Pitts hasn’t had more than three catches in any of Atlanta’s four games. Altogether, he has eight receptions (on 12 targets) for 105 yards and one touchdown. That’s hardly the production Atlanta expected from a player selected No. 4 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and who had 1,026 yards receiving in his rookie season.